Folks, we have a date. The national press is booking rooms at the downtown Marriott and making dinner reservations at Lucca. Now how many Iowans will show up at the more than 1,700 local precinct sites to name a favorite?

IOWA’S CALENDAR QUESTION IS ANSWERED…

….but what will Nevada and New Hampshire do? Iowa GOP leaders carved Jan. 3. in stone for the Republican caucuses here.

Matt Strawn

New Hampshire traditionally goes second after Iowa, but it’s currently in a stare-down with Nevada, arguing Nevada’s Jan. 14 vote is too soon.

Time’s Mark Halperin: “…The easiest outcome is for New Hampshire to get (Mitt) Romney or (Rick) Perry to boycott Nevada and declare it not a similar contest. It is harder now than it even was before to see New Hampshire going in December before Iowa.”

Politico: “…Nevada’s RNC delegate, Heidi Smith, said Nevada GOP Chairwoman Amy Tarkanian was to speak with Gov. Brian Sandoval ‘about what we should be doing.'”

And there’s more chatter about how the calendar lineup affects Romney. ABC’s Amy Walter: “…the Romney ‘inevitability’ narrative relies on Romney being able to run up the score early and take the wind out of the sails of any of his opponents. Back to back wins in Iowa and New Hampshire could do that. Or even a close second in Iowa and a big win in New Hampshire a few days later.”

Iowa GOP Chairman Matt Strawn has stepped up the pressure on Nevada to "rectify the problem" with the voting calendar. There happens to be a debate in Nevada tonight. This photo is of the New Hampshire debate Oct. 11. (AP photo)

Other Iowa news

BEYOND THE CAUCUSES

Political forces are lobbying for the Iowa Legislature to ensure presidents are elected by the majority of Americans’ votes, but some top Republicans are against that effort, the Register’s Kathie Obradovich writes.